>I've always wondered if the grassroots approach worksI've always wondered if the grassroots approach worksI've always wondered if the grassroots approach works

Atlanta Journal Constitution

http://tinylink.com/?Lm3ZJMjanF

Americana Rising Rock-country hybrid growing beyond its roots Bob Townsend - For the Journal-Constitution Sunday, November 2, 2003

While much of the music industry has been losing sales and hemorrhaging profits, many lean and hungry so-called Americana labels, such as Lost Highway, Rounder, Sugar Hill and Vanguard, are doing relatively well these days. Similarly, many icons of Americana, such as Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, have been selling albums and packing concerts for years without the benefit of hit singles or much airplay.

In fact, what most Americana labels and artists have in common is that mainstream radio doesn't play their music. Until he died in September, Americana patron saint Johnny Cash wasn't heard on country radio for some 20 years. But it was Cash's particular brand of distinctly American music --- a hybrid of folk, rock and country, written and sung with sincerity, wisdom and humor --- that gave Americana its identity.

Bluegrass-influenced artists are among Americana's biggest-selling and hardest-touring acts, with Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch leading the way.

Besides bluegrass, Americana's other great musical pillar is rock. And if Cash is Americana's father, Gram Parsons, who grew up in Georgia and Florida, is probably the artist most often cited as its cosmic architect.

Parsons died in 1973 at the age of 26, but not before producing a wave of songs and recordings that would define the country-rock sound, including his seminal work with the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers.

On Tuesday, several Atlanta-area musicians will celebrate Parsons' birthday (which is Wednesday) with "Sin City Social: A Tribute to Gram Parsons" at the EARL in East Atlanta.

Athens-based songwriter Dodd Ferrelle, who will be singing at the Parsons tribute, says that, for him, Americana is a kind of happy collision of rock and country.

"My mother had me listening to the Beatles from the time I could hear," says Ferrelle, who grew up in Savannah. "And everything I've done is kind of rooted in the Beatles sound but interpreted by a Southerner in my own style of songwriting. I think that just becomes Americana."

Americana artists may still operate in a realm that pioneering Americana magazine No Depression once declared "radio free country." But even that's been changing lately, with a smattering of commercial, public, Internet and satellite stations adopting Americana-style formats. Borders Books and Music recently inked a cross-promotion deal with the syndicated radio show "This Week in Americana" that includes in-store pricing and positioning of Americana CDs in all Borders locations.

The paradigm shift was first signaled by the left-field success of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"--- a soundtrack recording on Lost Highway of old-timey and bluegrass music, featuring Krauss and Welch, that topped the sales charts in 2001 and won five Grammys, including album of the year.

Conventional wisdom might consider "O Brother" a fluke. But J.D. May, executive director of the 4-year-old Americana Music Association, sees it as a sign that a market exists for more sophisticated adult music. He has facts and figures from the consulting firm Radio Research that show the typical Americana fan to be more active than the average consumer when it comes to purchasing CDs and attending live concerts.

During one week in October, for instance, the top 25 Americana artists --- including Cash, Harris, Krauss and Welch --- sold a combined 167,000 CDs. And May offers a few side-by-side comparisons of Americana CDs with limited radio play vs. Top 40 CDs with much greater exposure:

Cash's "The Man Comes Around" was at 665,000 after 48 weeks on the chart (his first gold record since the mid-'70s), Krauss' "Live" CD hit gold status at 539,000 after just under a year on the chart, and Nickel Creek was at 457,000 after 60 weeks on the chart. Cash, Krauss and Nickel Creek all had Top 5 Americana records but received virtually no radio airplay.

By comparison, country hit-makers Diamond Rio's "Completely" CD was at 532,000 after 59 weeks and Montgomery Gentry's "My Town" was at 497,000 after 58 weeks. Keith Urban's "Golden Road" came in with sales of 777,000 after 52 weeks. All these recordings had regular radio airplay.

But where they got played and why is a major concern in May's mind. "Radio formats are increasingly narrow, bland and unsatisfying to music lovers who prefer diversity in their listening," May says. "As this trend continues through further radio consolidation, Americana will be increasingly positioned as a viable alternative to relatively 'safe,' mainstream, Top 40 formats."

With that in mind, there's been a push to acknowledge Americana as a format more formally.

In March, the Americana Music Association started providing a weekly Americana chart to Radio & Records magazine. The chart combines data from the album playlists of some 70 stations and several syndicated programs.

Compared with the usual formula of simply tracking singles, the method may seem a bit arcane. But it does take into account the new media outlets that are emerging for listeners.

If Americana has a real problem, it's that most people in the music business still aren't exactly sure what it is --- even many who are called by its name.

Singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell is certainly one of Americana's favorite sons. He has a new Americana chart-topping disc out, "Fate's Right Hand," and was the featured artist at this year's Americana Music Association conference. He's heard lots of terms for the country-rooted music he's been performing since he arrived in Nashville in 1972.

"It used to be called country rock, didn't it," Crowell says. "I've been vocal and said that maybe this Americana thing doesn't work as a title. If you're looking for a bigger piece of the market, maybe you shouldn't be so subtle. Maybe you should just step out there and say it's 'good music.' "

Allison Moorer is a young singer-songwriter from Alabama with a stunning voice. She lives in Nashville but has recorded music that runs the gamut from folk ballads to torch songs, including a soulful duet with Kid Rock on her latest disc, "Show." She's served as an artist member on the board of the Americana Music Association and performed in September at this year's awards show in Nashville.

"The formation of the association, as I saw it when I got involved, was to help 'brand,' for lack of a better term, the music that this group of people wanted to help promote," Moorer says. "I do think they have made some real strides in that area. There are just so many different kinds of music that can fall under the category that people still end up not knowing what it is."

No Depression, which debuted in 1995, was the first publication to use the term Americana. Eight years on, it has grown to a 160-page bimonthly chock-full of profiles, reviews and ads. Lately, though, it has competition from some newer magazines, including Harp and Decatur-based Paste, both Americana Music Association conference sponsors.

"We stray a bit further from Americana with coverage of blues, rock, pop and even a bit of jazz," Harp Publisher Lee Mergner says from his office in Silver Spring, Md. "But American roots music is really the core of what we are covering. If I had one complaint about the Americana genre, it would be that it should be a bit broader and more inclusive of other American roots music --- like blues, zydeco, Cajun, folk and even jazz," he adds. "Sometimes it seems as though Americana just means country music that the country music establishment doesn't accept."

Paste magazine was started in 2002 by Decatur entrepreneurs Nick Purdy and Josh Jackson, and each issue comes with an 80-minute CD, featuring artists like Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle with Van Morrison, Joe Strummer and Wilco.

"Americana is really a term used to describe a loved and respected type of music that for whatever reason doesn't seem to penetrate commercial radio," says Purdy, publisher of Paste. "It includes alt country, roots and certain types of folk and rock artists --- but the commonality is in the substance found in the music and the focus on songwriting and instrumentation."

Purdy also believes that this music is offering a shot of much-needed vitality that links the past with the future. "We love Americana because it's just what our tagline says --- a 'Sign of Life.' "

CURRENT AMERICANA TOP 10 ALBUMS 1 Rodney Crowell, "Fate's Right Hand" 2 Robert Earl Keen, "Farm Fresh Onions" 3 Lyle Lovett, "My Baby Don't Tolerate" 4 Emmylou Harris, "Stumble Into Grace" 5 The Mavericks, "The Mavericks" 6 Chris Knight, "The Jealous Kind" 7 Various Artists, "Just Because I'm a Woman --- Songs of Dolly Parton" 8 Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, "The Trouble With Humans" 9 Wayne Hancock, "Swing Time" 10 Joe Ely, "Streets of Sin" Source: Americana Music Association, as of Oct. 27, 2003 WHERE TO HEAR AMERICANA IN ATLANTA THIS WEEK "Sin City Social: A Tribute to Gram Parsons." 9 p.m. Tuesday. $5. The EARL, 488 Flat Shoals Road, East Atlanta. 404-522-3950. Robinella & the CC String Band. 8 p.m. Thursday. $12. Smith's Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. 404-875-1522. Donna the Buffalo. 9 p.m. Saturday. $16 day of show; $14 in advance. Jim Lauderdale opens. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave., Atlanta. 404-249-6400. Other upcoming Americana shows Sam Bush, Nov. 14, Variety Playhouse. Big Sandy and His Fly Rite Boys, Nov. 15, Echo Lounge. Dodd Ferrelle and the Tin Foil Stars, Nov. 21, Smith's Olde Bar.